7,000 passengers were delayed or stranded due to a security lapse at Frankfurt Airport on Tuesday.
A French family of four tested positive for explosives while undergoing a security screenings, but was still allowed to leave a secure screening zone. The family was quickly tracked down after the mistake was discovered, screened again, and cleared for travel…but it was too late.
That mistake proved costly, leading to the closure of A gates and Z gates in Terminal 1 (Lufthansa/Star Alliance departures within Europe and to the USA) for about two hours. All passengers were evacuated as a security precaution.
By the time the dust had settled, many passengers had missed their flights. Some flights took off virtually empty to avoid rolling delays throughout the day. Lufthansa booked over 2,000 hotel rooms on Tuesday night to accommodate stranded passengers.
Federal police later said on Twitter:
The cause of the evacuation of the terminal was an error by a security officer. Despite a positive test for explosives, a French family of four were allowed to leave the security zone. The family was found, questioned and allowed to travel further.
CONCLUSION
This issue puts my short TSA lockdown delay in perspective…
It could have been worse, though. A security breach at Munich Airport last week led the cancellation of 300 flights, delaying 30,000 passengers…
> Read More: I Experienced A TSA Lockdown At LAX
If the family was located and cleared to fly, why did they need to complete the evacuation? It seems unlikely they could have planned this for a handoff
Just in case something was handed off, I suppose…